Weekend Masses in the midst of dangerous weather

January 12, 2024

With the National Weather Service warning of blizzard conditions into Saturday and then dangerous windchill temperatures settling in until early next week, pastors concerned about the well-being of their parishioners may be looking at their options for weekend services.

While situations differ across the diocese, cancelling a Mass is a legitimate option for pastors during such weather.

“Each pastor knows his parish best and situations will differ greatly across the Diocese,” said Father Trevor Chicoine, episcopal vicar for Divine Worship.

If someone is concerned about making it to Mass on Sunday because of the weather and road conditions, know they are not obligated to do that which is unsafe.

Parishes have various ways of communicating with parishioners if Mass is cancelled, be it a phone tree, phone messaging system, local radio, email, texting, Facebook, or posts on websites.